Reluctance
by nerkie1
Summary: What happens when a freedom loving, chaotic woman has to marry some one she doesn't love just to save her family? Chaos, obviously. GaaraXOC
1. Chapter 1

I don't own Naruto or any Characters. Been writing this for a while now and figured I'd up load it. Enjoy. There's more chapters to come, they're already written, just needs revising.

**Beautiful Butterfly, Come to me**

Hi! My name is Rae, short for Raeven. I'm a pretty easygoing gal all in all, and I'm about to start my senior year of high school. I seriously cannot WAIT to graduate and get out of this town. I live in an extremely remote town in North Dakota called Apex. Everybody knows everybody in this town. My two best friends since the sandbox days are Flem and Day. Flem's nickname is a bit hard to explain, his real name is Michael. And Day is short for Daemeon. 'Nuff said. Day and Flem are ALWAYS over, and I mean ALWAYS. We practically live together. I actually live with my dad, but he's never home. Oh! I should probably tell you a little about me. I'm 17 years old, going on 18. My favorite hobbies are kicking ass, kicking more ass and just plain being a bad ass. Yeah, I know, kind of cliché, but I love it. Only Flem and Day know just how sweet I really am. My bad assery is only complemented more by my odd hair color. Its black with this really cool red tinge to it. In natural sunlight you can see the red streaks running through it. Its totally natural too! I love it. My eyes are what earned me my completely badass nick name the Violet Butterfly. My eyes are this weird kind of kaleidoscope color. They're purple with yellow and red flecks in them.

Unfortunately, I'm a total midget. No not really, but most the time I feel like one. I'm 5'1", and TINY. No matter how much I eat, I stay small! Flem jokes that all the fat goes to my breasts, and he's not entirely wrong. I'm a pretty rounded D cup and in the right outfit I have all the guys drooling over me…. But I only ever made that mistake once… never again! Although, after that one time, I found my liking for ass kicking, because I kicked some major ass… like… majorly.

Anyway, as I mentioned before, I live with my never home dad. But, like always he's not home, so Flem, Day and I are hanging out by the pool. Yeah my dad's loaded, we have a pool. It's cool. I don't really know what he does though. When I ask he always say "I work for someone…at the something…doing…stuff." Yeah, dad's real creative. –Eye roll- But I love him. Work is the only thing he doesn't talk to me about… but other than that we are total BFF's. He's actually gay, and I mean flaming-grab-the-hot-waiters-ass-and-then-tell-you-about-it gay. Mom left him because of it, but that's ok. We have each other and he has this cute new BF that I LOVE LOVE LOVE.

As I sat there narrating my life for my own enjoyment, I heard the front door shut and voice coming from the living room. Flem swam to the edge of the pool.

"you're dad's actually home?" He said, shocked.

"I guess so…" I replied.

"Rae? Honey? You home?" I heard him call out.

"Yeah we're out by the pool!" I yelled back.

"Who's we?"

"Oh just me and all my massive pool orgy guys… ya know how I love me some orgies!" I cried out between giggles. Flem and Day stifled their laughter. My dad and I talked about every thing; he knew I was a virgin, in every sense of the word. As depressing as it was, I'd never even had a kiss. But talking about sex like that made him twist in the wind, and that was actually pretty fun to watch.

"Raeven Ann Thomas! I have guests and if you are going to have an orgy I have told you time and time again NOT to announce it!" He bellowed from the living room. The guys and me burst out laughing. My dad had his own sense of humor and it always made me smile.

"Joking, joking. It's just me, Day and Flem out here."

"Are you decent?"

"D'uh dad! I don't have you're wild streak remember…"

Dad stepped out onto the patio.

"I can never be too sure. But you're right, you got you're wild side from your mother, which I actually think is worse…" He trailed off deep in thought.

I watched as Dae and Flem got out of the pool. Both of them were very attractive. Dae was your typical blonde badass. Built, but not too much and his hair was spiked all the time. Only I got to see how cute he looked with no gel. Flem was the opposite. His bright green eyes and huge smile were where his look mostly came from. He had average shaggy brown hair and pale Irish skin. His build was lean, like a runner. I loved them both, but even if they ever asked I could never date them. I just wasn't attracted to guys. No I'm not a lesbian, I just never felt physically connected to a guy before. Flem, Dae and I were all attached by heartstrings, and that love was good enough for me.

I bounced out of my chair as they dried off.

"Daddy!" I cried and ran up to hug him. Wrapping my arms tightly around his waist and I noticed 4 people behind him.

"Dad, who are they?" I looked up at him.

"They're…. business partners." He looked solemn. As he ushered them into the living room I knew something was wrong. Dad never talked about work, he never frowned and he never, NEVER brought work home.

Dae grabbed one of my shoulders, Flem the other.

"Rae, somethings wrong. I don't like the looks those guys gave out. Is your dad in the mafia or something?" Flem said, squeezing my shoulder.

"No way," I giggled a bit knowing he was trying to cheer me up. "he's too much of a softie."

"Rae, come in here please." Dad called out. I shooed Dae and Flem into the kitchen as I wrapped a towel around my waist. My bathing suit was a one piece and not in the slightest way revealing, but I still felt the need to cover up. Flem and Dae were the only ones who I felt comfortable with showing off my body. Flem tossed me his shirt before heading into the kitchen. I put the huge shirt on, took a deep breath, put on my best smile and walked into the living room.


	2. Chapter 2  Chaos Ensues?

Dad was sitting in one of our recliners while the 3 teens were sitting on the couch and the guy that looked dad's age stood next to them.

"What's up dad? Why the long face?" I sat in the recliner next to his. Of course, being the klutz I am, I managed to send the seat flying back into the lay down position. I continued the conversation normally, as I always did when something weird was happening.

"You never bring people home from work. So what's the occasion?" I gave him an opening to spit out what ever was causing him so much stress.

"You're engagement." I looked over to him for a second. He wouldn't meet my gaze.

"PFFFTTT! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA." I howled with laughter and could hear Dae and Flem snickering in the kitchen. As I quieted down I flipped the chair back up into the sitting position.

"Seriously, dad. That was a really bad joke. You're going to have to try harder if you want me to believe you." I grinned over at him. He looked at me with tears in his eyes. My breath halted. _He wasn't lying_. I thought with a cold realization.

"Dad, kitchen." I said firmly and pulled him into the kitchen. He looked ready to break down.

"Woah! Mr. T you look awful!" Dae said. He could be a little dense sometimes. I shoved him and Flem into the living room.

"You two, stay out here and 'entertain' our 'guests' while I have a word with my father." I scowled coldly. They nodded. Dae and Flem had both seen me when I was angry like this and knew not to mess with me. As they turned to the guests and started talking loudly about stupid shit I turned back to my now weeping father.

"Dad, tell me what's going on." I pleaded with him. He looked into my eyes.

"Rae what I'm about to tell you will seem odd and hell even completely made up, but you have to believe me. I would never lie to you like this… do you understand me?" He had a look on his face so serious that I knew he was telling the truth. I nodded and he continued. He started explaining to me the different ninja nations and how they were kept hidden from the general public as a way to save the old culture. It seemed like everything I knew was a lie. Extra countries, a different world, ninja's, magic powers called chakra. My head was spinning with it all. It was some time later when he finished.

"Dad, why are you telling me this, and what does it have to do with me?"

"Raeven, when you were born, you're mother promised you to the Kazekage. I fought so hard and have been able to keep you this long because they found no use in you, but now, he wants you to marry his youngest son, and I can't say no."

"Why not dad? Just tell them I'm not interested." I huffed.

"Baby listen," He took me into his arms, his head resting on my shoulder. "You have to be brave, you have to do this. If you don't they'll kill you and Rae, you're the only thing I have left in this life. If I give you to them, at least I know you're safe and I can still visit you. Please don't take my sunshine away." I noticed the last line. It was from a song he sang to me all the time when I was upset. I pushed him away and for a second he looked terrified.

"Dad, it'll be okay." I smiled up at him. "I'll go, and so help me god I'll make them so miserable, they'll have to send me back!" He laughed at this.

"That's the girl I raised!" We were enjoying our father daughter moment when screams and crashing objects could be heard from the living room. I sighed. Storming into the room I noticed that chaos had ensued, probably at the fault of my two best friends.

"Daemeon Sabaestian Elliot and Michael Lucifer Kerry!" I bellowed. The chaos stopped and the two mischief-makers took their seats at record speed. I observed the room. A growling emo kid with red hair; I say kid, but I knew he was my age and probably taller than me, but he looked like a brat to me, a blushing blonde wearing a dress with fishnets, an out of breath cat looking weirdo with his face painted up and a furious looking grown up with bronze skin and a white cloth hanging in front of half his face. Not to mention all the broken furniture in the living room.

"Rae, we swear we didn't start it!" Flem broke out.

"Yeah! They were giving us the evil eye!" Dae shouted.

"Probably didn't help that you were hitting on the blonde." Flem commented. Dae blushed and laughed.

"Enough!" I cried out regally. I loved acting so I was constantly being far more dramatic than necessary, but it was fun!

"The only reason I have entered this room was to discover who my husband is to be so that we may began baby making immediately!" I struck a determined pose.

"Excuse me, but I think you mean whom!" Dae commented.

"Um, I think the bigger question is, what the hell are you talking about?" I looked down at Flem. "Eep!" He shut up quickly. I walked over to the tan guy and glared up at his still very shocked face.

"You!" I pointed, finger pressing on his nose.

"Names!" I pointed to the three on the couch. The tan guy cleared his throat and bowed.

"My name is Baki. And those on the couch, are siblings, Temari," The blonde nodded. "Kankuro," The creepy face painted guy smiled creepily. "And Gaara." No reaction. None, zip, nada. Baki cleared his throat once more.

"Gaara will be your husband." He looked really nervous and I noticed the red head twitch.

"Goth!"

"Emo!"

"Raccoon."

"Punk."

"HARDCORE!"

_Oh for the love of kitty cats. _I glared at Dae and Flem. The looked upset almost.

"Don't give me that look Rae!" Flem pouted.

"Yeah, just because he's already your… fiancé" He shuddered saying the word "Doesn't mean he's spared from the criticism we give all the guys who want to date you." Dae said triumphantly. His smirk disappeared when he realized his mistake. I never knew they did this. I never knew that scrutinized all my boyfriends before I got to date them. I glared so hard at Dae that it looked like he was shrinking.

"YOU DO WHAT!" I yelled so loud I thought I heard glass cracking. Dae backed away a little. I was FURIOUS. I grabbed the two by the back of their swimming trunks and dragged them upstairs. Wailing and pleading they kicked and screamed all the way up to my room. I dropped them on the floor. Winking, I began packing a bag as they caught on. They continued their cries and plead for mercy and even started making thwacking noises, all with smiles on their faces. They knew I'd never beat them up, but they loved to give everyone the impression I did, sadistic bastards.

A tear rolled down my cheek as they quieted down. I picked up my favorite picture of us. We were all going to this party our sophomore year and dressed in matching top hats and tux's. It was the best party ever. Flem came over and hugged me. Dae did the same. I cried a little more.

"Listen, lets keep them waiting a little longer and do one last game on the 64. Mario cart, rainbow level, no cheating." Flem said as he pulled out the ancient gaming system.

"Yeah. Thank you. You guys are the best." We played and played and eventually things got a little out of hand.


	3. Chaos continues?

I don't own naruto... d'uh peoples.

**Gaara POV**

We had been sitting on this stupid couch for an hour waiting for that stupid bitch to come back down when everyone, including my self could here very…. Odd, noises coming from upstairs.

"YEAH! Give it to daddy!" A male voice cried.

"Shut up! And take it bitch!" The other one shouted.

And it just got worse. We all knew what they were doing. I had no idea why I was upset.

**Don't be upset kid. You're next. You get to tap that ass.**

_Get out of my head, Shukaku._

**No way brat, this is too entertaining. You, the most unsociable person ever, is being FORCED to get married and she is damn fine! Plus did you see how terrified those guys were of her? Damn I bet she's freaky in bed.**

_ENOUGH. I don't care. We're not getting married. I don't even see why I need to get married. It's stupid. I hate diplomacy. I hate politics. I hate all that racket. _

I growled and glared at her father. He raised such a whore.

"It's not what you think." He said sheepishly.

"They're actually playing a video game. When I first heard them I thought the same thing, but my baby wouldn't do that… at least not loud enough for everyone to hear…" He trailed off into though.

_What a fucking idiot._

The noise stopped and I could hear footsteps on the stairs. I looked over to see the bitch standing there in a shirt and some blue pants made out of a thick material. The male with blonde hair was carrying a bag, the brown haired one carrying the other.

"Okay!" She said cheerfully. " All set!" I growled again and stormed out to the vehicle and got in, waiting for everyone else to follow. Eventually everyone made it outside and everyone was waiting in the car while that stupid cunt talked to her even dumber friends.

"Get in!" I yelled. She looked into the car, smiled and with venom dripping from every word she said, "Bite me, red."

"Damn girl, no need to be so touchy! He is you beau after all!" The blond spoke up. She scowled and hugged them all good bye and got in, being forced to sit in between her father and me. The car ride was silent.

**Rae's POV**

I sighed mentally for the four millionth time. I hated long silent awkward cars rides. I hated people who looked at me weird. I looked at Kankuro who seemed just as bored by the tension.

"Soooooo… Ninja's huh?" Was the most intelligible piece of crap I could spurt out.

"Yeah." Kankuro nodded.

"That's actually pretty cool. Dae and I used to play ninja's versus pirates all the time. Then when Flem came along we added demonic beings to it. Do you know why pirates always win?" I asked Kankuro.

"No. Why?"

"Because pirates can get everything else drunk with their endless supply of rum. Drunkenness makes everything better." I knew my joke was lame, but Kankuro cracked a smile anyway.

"So what's it like being a ninja anyway? They have ninja's on T.V., but I doubt it comes close to the real thing." Much of the car ride was spent with Temari, Kankuro and myself talking about normal ninja stuff, and I found some of it pretty cool, like how they each have a special ability. I turned to Gaara, who had been silent the entire time.

"What's your special thing?" I asked with a smile.

"Killing people." He growled. I kept my smile plastered. I wasn't going to give in to his fear tactic game.

"Really? That's pretty neat. " My smile never left my lips as I spoke. The conversation died down again after that. Luckily we were almost there… but where the hell was there? The car came to a halt at the edge of a desert.

"Dad, where are we?" I asked as we got out of the car.

"We're on the portal between the planes. This is where you go into their world." He said looking out proudly.

"Dad, it's a desert." I said blatantly. He looked down at me.

"Yeah?"

"I'm going to melt!" I got to my knees dramatically.

"Baby, you're going to live in the Village Hidden in Sand, where did you think it'd be located at?"

"THE BEACH. D'uh." He heaved a sigh at my response.

"Come." Baki ordered.

"Dad, I don't want to make this any harder. I figured I'd need to travel light. The suitcases in the car are packed with winter clothes, so all I need is my back pack." I looked at him with my sad eyes.

"Daddy, I'll miss you. Please come visit me more often than you came home." I said, biting back tears.

"I will sweet heart. I will." He gave my cheek a kiss and waved as he got back into the car.

I glared at the people I would be living with.

I put on my sweetest smile and walked over to Baki.

"Your bags?" He asked.

"Won't need them." I stated. He nodded, holding out his hand. He made several signs with one hand as I held onto the other. Then, black. I felt like I was floating in the air. I did a couple twirls and flips and felt great, but also terrified. Was I falling? Was I even going anywhere?

**What is your purpose here child?** A wild voice asked.

"Hello?" I called out with worry.

**You should leave before you die.** I looked all around but saw nothing but black.

The black began to fade. I could feel weight bearing down on me again. The sheer magnitude of all the weight pushing me down knocked the air out of me. I clenched my hands and realized that I was no longer holding Baki's. I was alone… alone in this fading world. It hurt. The weight, the loneliness, the fear, it felt like it was killing me. Then the real pain started. I felt myself thunk as I was forced back to reality, my ass hitting the ground… hard. I looked up and saw Baki standing over me. I hurt… I felt like a car hit me. I didn't move or say anything. Baki pulled me up onto his back and merely hung there. I was so dazed that I couldn't tell what was up or down or anything. I closed my eyes and lost myself to the darkness.

"Is she awake yet?" I heard Kankuro moan.

"No, leave her alone, I don't know what happened but both her and Gaara have been acting really weird. She's been knocked out and Gaara has been… he hasn't murdered anyone, although his temper seems to have gotten worse." Temari's voice answered Kankuro.

**Gaara POV**

He didn't want to talk about what had happened when Baki transported them. He felt her in his head. For some reason, he could feel her sadden at his situation, and even though Shukaku had reached out to warn her, she did not show fear, just pain. She felt my pain and I knew that's what was keeping her bed ridden.

Shukaku himself had even shut up to let me be. It was almost, pleasant, not having him interrupting my thoughts.

**I can still hear them though**

_You came back just to annoy because I said it was nice without you._

**That and that girl wore me out.**

_What?_

**I touched her mind and it nearly sapped me of energy. I'm drained kiddo, so don't go getting yourself into trouble.**

He yawned and went back to sleep. I growled. How did she do that? Why did it have to be her? She's so loud mouthed and arrogant and annoying and stupid! I hate that bitch.

**Rae POV**

I groaned. Attempting to sit up was a challenge. Everything hurt. I glanced over at a sleeping Kankuro.

"Hey." My voice was hoarse. He opened one eye to peek at me.

"Hey." He answered back.

"How long have I been out?"

"About a week."

"Why?"

"Don't know."

"Are you mad at me?" I said. I didn't know why I was feeling this way but it felt like he was mad at me for something. Tears started forming in my eyes.

"What? No, wait, are you crying? No I'm not mad! I just had a bad day. Please please don't cry. Gaara will kill me if he finds out I made you cry!" Kankuro looked panicked.

"Why does he care?" I asked burying my head in my knees. "He hates me."

"Honestly, I can't tell you if he does or not, but he's been in here everyday. He'll look at you, scowl, then leave." Kankuro said, as if that would reassure me. I sniffled looking at him. He wasn't wearing his face paint and was just wearing some plain black clothes. His brown hair looked pretty rumpled. I snickered to myself.

"What's so funny?" he asked defensively.

"You're kind of cute without all that make up on." He roared with laughter while blushing.

"Looks like you're back to being cheerful huh?" he grinned.

"Yeah." I smiled back.

"Good. There are some clothes on the nightstand. I'll be back in an hour to come get you for dinner." He stood up to leave. I grabbed his sleeve, not sure what my intentions were. He glanced back.

"Thank you. I'm glad you're my friend." I didn't look up at him as he left. I felt a chill run down my spine as he left the room. I glanced around. It felt like someone was watching everything. I shivered and picked up my clothes. The bedroom I was in was modest, a bed, a dresser, a nightstand and a bookcase. There was a door and I opened it, expecting a closet, but instead found a bathroom that was almost as big as the actual bedroom. I gasped.

_It's huge! _There was this huge tub in the middle with a small shower in the corner. The mirror was gigantic and it was all tiled in sea foam green. I glanced around, still feeling like I was being watched, and undressed quickly and jumped into the tub. The warm water felt so good on my skin. I sighed as I though about my situation.

_I'm glad it was Kankuro I woke up. He's really sweet when he's not a perv._ I chuckled a bit before dunking myself under water.

I loved the water. There wasn't a day when I wasn't in our pool back home. Being in a desert I knew I wouldn't have the chance to be in the water as much, so I took this time to relish it. The tub was deep enough for me to sit on the bottom and be completely immersed. I stayed under for quite some time, just floating and thinking.

**Not much fun being in a desert huh? **

I jerked out of the water.

_What was that?_ I looked around. It sounded like the voice form when I blacked out in the portal thing. I was officially freaked out. I heard Kankuro knocking on the door to my bedroom.

_Jeez, have been in the tub that long? I don't even remember being under water for more than a few minutes. _

"Rae! Come on! I'm starvingggggggggggg." He whined.

"Be out in a minute!" I got dressed slowly, still glancing around the bathroom. I would not let this place beat me. I was too tough for this. I held my head high as I marched out to meet Kankuro. He sighed.

"Finally!" I stuck my tongue out. He grabbed it.

"Pweafe wet wo."

"No way. This is too much fun!" He led me down the hall and down some stairs by my tongue and didn't let go until we got to the table. I made a gagging noise and began scraping my tongue off like it had been touched by something terrible. Kankuro made a face and sat down.

"Ugh!" I grunted, still scraping my tongue. "You taste awful!" Temari walked in just at that moment and nearly dropped the plate she was holding. I laughed, as her eyes got wide.

"Why were you tasting my brother?" She screamed.

"Because I like to know how everyone tastes. Licking people is my new favorite hobby!" As I spoke I walked up next to her. I gave her a big lick on her hand to prove a point.

"See? You taste sweeter than you seem." I winked. She sputtered a few unintelligible comments before finally yelling at Kankuro.

"Kankuro, where's your brother?" Kankuro shrugged.

"He wouldn't answer when I went to go get him." He said.

"I'll get him." I volunteered.

"Well, okay, his room is…" I held up a hand, silencing him. Taking a huge breath, I bellowed as loud as I could.

"GAARA IS A BUTT FACE AND WOULDN'T DARE COME DOWN TO ARGUE WITH ME ABOUT IT BECAUSE HE'S TOO SCARED OF ME!" Temari actually did drop her plate this time.

"Raeven! Do you have a death wish?" She almost screamed at me. Gaara appeared red-faced and furious behind her.

"Apparently, but at least he's here for dinner!" I said cheerfully before taking a seat across from Kankuro. Temari was trying to calm her little brother down while Kankuro leaned over and whispered in my ear.

"You are totally my new favorite person ever!" I giggled a little from the tickling sensation in my ear.

"What are you giggling about?" Gaara growled dangerously at me. I was not afraid of him. His mean looks would never deter my humor or scare me off, not that easily.

"He was whispering sweet nothings in my ear." I said seductively while wrapping my arms around Kankuro's neck, pressing our cheeks together. Kankuro was yanked from my hold. I saw him pinned against the wall by sand, and him choking and sputtering. Gaara was looking at him with eye's filled with hate.

"Gaara stop!" I cried out, placing my hands on his arm. I don't know why, but the touch seemed to have startled him enough that he dropped Kankuro.

"Why did you do that? I was just joking! Kankuro's my friend. Friends joke like that. Gaara, why would you want to hurt him?" I asked, my voice wavering. I couldn't understand why he would do that. I couldn't understand that look in his eyes as he glared at me. Me, the person always ready to turn a bad situation into one filled with laughter had just done the opposite. I was shaken more by the knowledge that my actions had hurt Kankuro than what Gaara had actually done.

"Are you afraid of me now?" Gaara growled, not bothering to look down at me. My sadness suddenly turned to anger. Before I could stop myself or control my limbs my hand hit something, hard. The loud whack of my back handed slap seemed to echo for eternity. I glared up at Gaara as he stood there in shock.

"I will NEVER be afraid of you. You're just a spoiled kid, and I will break you of your bad habit." My eyes never left his face as he bent down to glare at me, our noses only an inch or so apart.

"I will MAKE you fear me." He whispered harshly.

"Bring it on, bitch." My anger rivaled his. I never let anyone bully me. I had taken on 3 sets of howling twins when I used to babysit, I could certainly handle this out of control brat.

He growled low before disappearing in swirl of sand. My anger vanished when I heard Kankuro groan. I ran over to him.

"Are you okay? I am so, so sorry I got you hurt." I bent down to help him up. He grinned up at me, rubbing his neck.

"Girl, it wasn't your fault, and besides, I don't know how you did it but not only did you touch Gaara and talk back to him, you challenged him and lived to tell about it." Kankuro roared with laughter.

"You're so weird!" He continued laughing. Temari did not share his joy.

**Gaara POV**

**You're getting soft.**

_Shut up._

**You let that woman walk all over you.**

_She touched me…how could she do that? Why did she do that? What about the barrier? No one is supposed to be able to touch me. She wasn't fast or anything._

**Her intentions held no real malice in them I guess. She may be angry with you, but she'd never hurt you.**

_She SLAPPED me._

**Yeah, that was funny.** Shukaku chuckled. I was furious. More confused than furious. She had been able to touch me, and the contact startled me so much I lost all concentration. I hated her for it. I wanted to kill her. I should have killed her before she even had the chance to slap me. Her words stung in my ear. –"why would you want to hurt him"- I clasped my head. The words just kept echoing. Why did she care why I wanted to kill him? She had no right to question my purpose. I should have killed them both.

**Why kill the one woman not afraid to be near you? Your father wants you to sire a child, and I know why.**

_What are you talking about? Tell me!_

**Maybe later, I've said too much.**

I growled at the sudden end to our conversation. I could here Temari, Kankuro and Raeven all laughing inside. It made my blood boil. But, why? Was it because she was supposed to be mine? Was it because I didn't want her to be happy with another man? I growled and made up my mind to simply avoid her. She wasn't worth all of this added noise in my head. I jumped from the roof to go sit in my secret spot.


	4. Chapter 4

I don't own Naruto, dur!

**Rae POV**

Dinner had been fairly calm after Gaara left. Temari spent much of it yelling at Kankuro for being gross while eating, which actually seemed to be fairly normal. I was in the kitchen washing dishes. I had volunteered since Temari cooked and Kankuro seemed insulted when she asked.

I was humming to myself when I heard the door to the kitchen creak open and a low growl emit from that direction. I didn't even have to look to know who it was. I knew it was Gaara behind me glaring at the back of my head, sneering his trade mark sneer.

I continued washing and humming. I was going to ignore him as long as I could, and trust me, after having to hang out with Dae and Flem, I had an almost endless amount of patience. I heard him pace around, almost unsure of what to do. He took several steps forward then stopped. I continued my chore. A few more steps, silence. He took two more long strides and he was behind me, practically breathing down my neck. I continued to ignore him. His breath tickled against the back of my neck.

I waited patiently for him to move. He didn't.

I finished with my chore and he was still behind me. I moved normally, not even acknowledging he was behind me. I put all the dried dishes away in their respective cabinets, got out a cup and poured some water for myself to take up to bed. The entire time I felt his eyes on me, but didn't even glance his way. I wouldn't give in to his scare tactic.

I pulled the door open only to have it slammed shut by sand. I still didn't look his way. I waited several minutes and tried opening the door again. Once again, it was slammed shut. I shrugged.

"Must be the wind." I said aloud. I tried a third time, again to no avail. I just stood there. Waiting. One of us would have to break. I stood there silently for about twenty minutes, feeling his eyes bearing into the back of my skull.

"Look at me." He growled. I ignored it. Only looking at the door, my back to him.

"Look. At. Me." His voice rose in volume. Again, I said nothing, did nothing. I was not going to let his bratty attitude continue.

I heard his footsteps as he walked over. I stood there, relaxed and calm, I didn't want him to know how much his presence made me want to run after seeing what he did to his own brother. I felt his breath on the nape of my neck again. He was even closer than last time, our bodies almost touching.

**Gaara POV**

I had only come in to get some dinner, but she was there, almost waiting for me. It irritated me, boiled my blood that I couldn't do something as simple as avoid a stupid woman. I growled at the thought. I wanted her out of my sight, but every time she tried to leave I had stopped her. I didn't want her ignoring me. I wanted her to look at me, but she didn't even bother. I wanted her acknowledge me, to be scared of me like she should be. I wanted all that, but there was an unfamiliar emotion lingering.

I shook my head mentally of the thought. I did not need her attention. I didn't care if she died or lived, I hope she'd do the first one.

"Look at me." I demanded. Nothing.

"Look. At. Me." I said again louder. Silence.

I walked over to her, ready to snap her neck to get her to scream, but even though I was right behind her I couldn't do it.

**Of course you can't. that woman… she kills all blood lust in you, and in me. I hate her. I want to hurt her so much, but just her presence… it makes me weak. It's like in the portal, she sapped away my energy.**

_What do you mean she sapped your energy? TELL ME!_

**This woman…is different. She gives off no chakra or any type of power but she seems to be able to take energy from me. In the portal, our minds touched. Her mind was in a weakened state as was yours and I wanted to scare her, to make her terrified of us. But she wasn't afraid and when I pulled back from her mind, it was like she trapped me there and took my energy. **

_No wonder you've been so quiet… _

**Shut up and kill her. You want her blood. It would taste so sweet, all the defiance dripping out of her. Her final thought would be one of pure terror. Kill her, tear her to pieces for me.**

**Rae POV**

Gaara started shaking and murmuring to himself. He sounded possessed. And then he fell to his knees, gasping in what seemed like pain. I forgot all about ignoring him.

"Gaara!" I cried. I knelt down in front of him.

"Gaara, what's wrong? Gaara!" I wanted to reach out to touch him, but I was worried he'd react like he did with Kankuro. I shook the thought from my head.

_No, he's in pain. He won't hurt me._ I grasped onto him, pulled him into a hug.

"Gaara please. Tell me what's wrong. I want to help. Please, let me in." I whispered in his ear. His body gradually stopped shaking. His head rested on my shoulder and I could feel him breathing heavily. I heard footsteps rushing down the staircase.

"Rae! Are you okay?" Temari burst into the kitchen. Gaara was gone before she came in, leaving me with nothing but sand in my hands. I looked down.

"Yeah, I'm okay. Gaara was just behaving strange and I was worried about him is all. He left, so I guess he's fine now." I looked up at Temari. She nodded and left. I sighed and went to my bedroom.

It had been two weeks since that day. I hadn't seen Gaara since then, except for a few glimpses of him walking around and training with his siblings. Temari and Kankuro barely had much time for me lately. They were all getting ready for an important mission or something. No one told me anything and I didn't bother asking since they were determined to not tell me.

I kept myself busy with the book Baki brought me and even had a couple of the ninja's that worked guard duty at the gate teach me some stuff. Bahjahl, a friendly ninja with many scars but kind eyes was teaching me how to use a kunai. And Rika, a female ninja (they called themselves kunoichi) was teaching me about the history of the land of Wind, which was the nation the village of sand resided in. Of course, I could have learned all the stuff she was teaching me from a book, but it was more interesting to talk to her about it.

It was early morning when a knock came on my door. I opened it, a tired look in my eyes and my grumpy face on.

"What?" I whined.

"We're leaving on our mission. I just wanted to say good bye." He smiled. I slammed the door in his face. I knew they were leaving this morning. I heard him walk away. I grabbed a small bag and rushed out the door. I hoped I planned this right.

"Kankuro!" I called out as he disappeared around the corner. He turned to look at me, a sullen look on his face.

"You guys are doing something dangerous aren't you." He nodded again.

"Take me to the front gate with you. I want to say goodbye to Gaara and Temari too." He shook his head with a huge grin.

"Silly woman." I stuck my tongue out at him as he picked me up and threw me over his shoulder.

I screamed the whole way there. I had seen them all jumping and running around before, but actually experiencing it was terrifying! Kankuro dropped me on my butt right outside the gigantic stone wall that represented the gate.

"God damnit woman! You have lungs of fucking steel!" He cried out. I giggled. Turning to Temari, I gave her a hug. They all started to walk off as I just stood there.

"Gaara, wait!" I ran up to him. I hadn't realized it until then, but he was kind of handsome, standing there as the sun rose behind him, his arms crossed and his face solemn.

"Here." I held out a small box. "But don't open it until tonight." I added quickly. He hesitated to take it. As he occupied himself with finding a place to put the box I balanced on my very tippy toes and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Come home safely." I whispered as I pulled away. Truth be told I missed being around him the past couple of weeks, even though he always acted like a jerk, but for some reason, after that night in the kitchen I felt more like I was taking care of an abused puppy than a spoiled brat. I wanted him to feel wanted. I hadn't had the chance to because of all his training and his obvious avoidance of me, but I would try to show him all the kindness I had in anyway possible.

As I stood there, smiling like an idiot, he looked at me with his always-intense gaze, and then turned without a word to join his siblings. I waved as they all jumped off. I felt my heart tug a little. I hoped they would be all right. I didn't know what they were off doing, but I knew it was dangerous.

**Gaara POV**

We had been running all day and were almost to an oasis that was constantly used as a rest place for the sand ninja.

**She gave you a gift to break your guard down. She's going to betray you.**

_Shut up raccoon, I know that._

**Then why are you keeping it and not opening it until nightfall? It's probably a trap of some sort.**

The raccoon growled as I ignored his question. He had been grumpy ever since she held me that night. I wanted to laugh at him, but knew that that would only make him worse.

Night fell and we stopped at the small oasis. I took my usual post in a tree as the other two chatted quietly around the fire. My hand grazed the spot she had kissed. It still tingled. She always managed to catch me off guard and I hated her for it. I ripped the box open. A small stone fell out. It was a necklace.

_Stupid woman, giving me jewelry. what an idiot._

I was about to toss the necklace far from me when a note fell out of the box. I unfolded it and read.

-Gaara,

I saw this the other day while wandering around outside the wall. I don't know what kind of stone it is, but it reminds me of you. When held up to moonlight and looked in to, you can see what looks like a black flame. I wanted you to have it. Please come home safely. I'll await your return.

*heart* Rae-

She actually drew a heart. What a retard. I held the crystal up to the moonlight. She was right. A flame danced inside the stone. I grunted at her stupid gesture of kindness. I didn't want to get rid of such a fascinating object, but didn't want to give her the satisfaction of me wearing it, so I tucked it into my kunai pouch.

Our mission was actually pretty simple; go to a warring country, help and leave. Easy.

**Rae POV**

It had been two weeks since they left. I now spent everyday with Rika and Bahjahl, I wanted to be at the gate so I knew just when they came home. It was late into the afternoon when a ninja from a higher post on the wall cried out.

"People spotted!" I was so excited. I rushed down the wall, this of course took forever since I wasn't a ninja. As soon as I got there though, my hopes were crushed. They weren't Gaara or his siblings.

A blonde boy dressed in all orange stood in front of me, three other men standing behind him. The blond had shaggy hair, bright blue eyes and a contagious grin. The boys behind him looked almost scary. One was dressed in all green with a bowl cut and a turtle face. The other had white eyes and long brown hair. The last boy was walking far behind the others at a slow pace wearing a green vest. His eyes looked bored and his brown hair was pulled into a tight ponytail.

My eyes started to water as I watched Baki talk with the blond.

"Baki." I ran towards him. He looked down at me and looked ready to run for the hills when he saw my teary eyes.

"Where's Gaara?" His face grew soft. He patted my head like I was a lost puppy and smiled.

"Don't worry. He'll be fine." I sniffled. My moods had begun to become depressed lately and I think he sensed that.

"Naruto, would you and your teammates please take Rae home?" Baki asked.

"Sure!" The blond yelled. We began walking.

"I'm Naruto, what's your name?"

"Rae." I stated simply.

"How do you know Gaara?" He asked, hands behind his head.

"We're engaged." They all halted.

"WHAT?" They screamed in unison. The turtle boy, Lee, stood there slack jawed as did Naruto. The longhaired one, Neji, scoffed.

"How the hell did you manage to get that monster to agree to that?" His head held high as if he were better than everyone. He made the deadly mistake of being within an arms length of me.

THWACK

A huge red handprint was plastered to his face, shock written all over his features.

"Never call him that!" I yelled, my cheeks tinged red with anger. He turned back to me, anger in his pale eyes.

"And what would you know of it?" His voice low.

"I don't! Nobody tells me anything about him, but it shouldn't matter what happened in the past. All he is now is lonely and confused! And he shouldn't be judged for that!" I screamed at him, tears rolling down my face. He looked slightly touched by my words, but still stubborn in his judgment. I turned on my heels and ran. I didn't know why I was running; I just felt that I had to get away. I had been in the place for a couple of months and even though I felt a little more comfortable in the village, it still wasn't home. I missed my home, my friends, and my life. I turned into an abandoned building and collapsed onto the floor sobbing. I had never felt so weak and useless in my life.

"Where'd she go?" Lee yelled. It sounded like they were right outside the building.

"I don't know. Let's split up!" Naruto yelled. Shikamaru sighed. "How bothersome."

I didn't want to go anywhere, I just wanted to stay there and feel sorry for myself, so I did. I must have fallen asleep because when I opened my eyes again it was dark out and my legs were completely numb. I felt sick all of the sudden as I realized I'd have to go back to the house and be alone again, so I figured I'd just stay here. I curled up into a more comfortable position and went back to sleep.

**Gaara POV**

We had gotten back to the village about and hour before sunset. One of the guards, Rika, I think was her name, came down to greet us. She bowed low and informed us that Rae had been waiting for us, but was met by the leaf ninja and was now missing. As she finished her report Naruto, Lee, Neji and Shikamaru leapt into view.

"Gaara!" Naruto called out waving me over. I walked over to him with Kankuro and Temari.

"Naruto!" Kankuro yelled, grabbing him by his shirt collar and lifting him up.

"Where the hell is Rae?" Kankuro tightened his grip on the ninja.

"Well, we don't really know. Neji said something that really seemed to upset her and she slapped him then ran away crying and now we can't find her. We've been looking all day!" Naruto managed to stammer out. I had heard enough. I leapt from their sight and onto the roofs of the village.

_Why do I even care if she's gone? I shouldn't be looking for her. She doesn't care about me._

Shukaku was strangely silent.

_Whatever._

**Love, vessel, is a strange circumstance. **

_I don't love anyone but myself._

**Hmph. Obviously. **I growled at the overly sarcastic comment. I jumped from the roofs of the village to walk through the now abandoned streets. Not many people came out at night, for a good reason. I could hear sobbing down an alley. At first I ignored it. It wasn't any of my business and I certainly didn't need people thinking I had gotten soft.

"Shut up, bitch!" I heard a male voice yell, then a soft thud and a familiar voice.

"Bite me!" The voice managed to sputter out before I heard another thud, a groan and the sound of something hitting the ground. I turned down the alley to see two men undressing the now unconscious Rae. They were dead before they even knew I was behind them.

I felt such blind raging anger. It was an anger I hadn't felt in so long. It almost hurt. I was pulled from my thoughts when I heard Rae cough. She looked so … broken.

**Good, you should have just let them finish her off.**

_Shut up._

**Why do you care? You aren't meant to love, and she will never love you. She'll hate you when she finds out what you REALLY are.**

Shukaku chuckled as I attempted to push him out of my head.

I knelt down and picked her up carefully. She was so light in my arms. Her face was bruised and she had a cut running the length of her chin almost to her throat. He top had been ripped and she had no pants on. Her arms and legs had been cut up and when I wrapped my arm around her waist I could already feel several broken ribs from when they must have kicked her. I carried her swiftly to her room before getting a medic. She was so fragile just then. I could have killed her with one wrong touch, yet I had not the desire to. I just wanted her to wake up. I held her now limp hand. The very hand that had slapped me. The very hand that had held me when I was in pain. I held it when no one was watching. I needed her to live.


	5. Boogity boo

I don't own Naruto, dur!

**Rae POV**

My body was so heavy and everything hurt that when I even breathed I wanted to scream out in pain. I could here voices but they were all so muffled. I wanted to know who was with me. I squeezed my eyes tighter, trying to remember what had happened. I had woken up in an empty building, then went back to sleep. Then what? I couldn't remember. I groaned as I tried lifting my hand to my head.

"Hey, she's awake." I heard a familiar voice.

"Rae? Rae, its Temari. How are you feeling?" I barely cracked my eyes open. I hadn't the energy to talk, so I did my best grunt, but even that hurt.

"Rae, just go back to sleep. You still have a long recovery ahead of you." Temari said, worry in her voice. Recovery? Recovery from what? I wanted to ask her, but my mind drifted back into darkness.

I woke up again, this time able to open my eyes and focus. I was in my bedroom. I felt a small grip on my hand. I still couldn't move but out of the corner of my eye I could see a mop of red hair sitting on the edge of my bed.

"A…..ra…" Was all I could manage. He turned his head to me.

"Are you awake?" His voice sounded… different. It wasn't a growl, or threatening, it was just… tired.

"Yeah." I said so quietly I could barely hear myself.

"Good." He got up. My hand squeezed his. I didn't want him to leave.

"What happened?" My voice was still quiet, but a little stronger.

"You don't remember?"

"No."

"Good." He turned and jumped out of the window.

I wanted to call out for him, but didn't have the strength. I was restless all night. I couldn't move, but I kept trying. I wanted to know what had happened. Why was I this way? The sun started rising over the quiet village when I heard footsteps outside the door.

"I can't believe he found her like that." I heard Lee's voice outside the door in a hushed whisper.

"I know. It's amazing that she's alive at all. She wasn't breathing when they finally got a medic to see her, and honestly, I couldn't believe Gaara." Naruto was talking.

"I know!" Lee responded.

"It's like he's a different person. Not totally different because everyone's still afraid of him, but maybe she'll be able to break that shell of his. Kankuro said she was able to touch him, I didn't think that was possible." Naruto said. I heard the door click open. I was finally able to turn my head and speak a little.

"Hey." I said meekly.

"Rae!" Naruto yelled. He was about to give me a hug when he was yanked back.

"You're going to hurt her if you hug her like that." A cold voice said. Behind Naruto was Neji, holding the blond boy back. He looked at me with sad eyes. I smiled back.

"Hey. No hard feelings about me slapping you right? I got a little carried away. Sorry about that." My voice kept cracking from the strain. He snorted.

"Whatever." He walked out the door.

"It's okay Rae. He's just upset because Gaara blames him for what happened." Lee said.

"What DID happen? I can't remember anything." Lee and Naruto looked down.

"I don't really know how you got like you did, only Gaara knows that, but when the medic got to you, you were barely alive. It looked like you had gotten beaten up really bad. You had cuts everywhere and were bruised to hell, and you have at least 6 broken ribs. You've been out for almost a week." Naruto explained. I groaned.

This wasn't helping me feel any less useless.

"There's something else." Naruto continued, refusing to look into my eyes.

"Rae, they found you with no pants and your shirt ripped to shreds, and well, while we can't be sure, the doctor thinks you may have bee… " Naruto was cut off by sand being shoved into his mouth.

"Gaara!" Lee shouted at the red head.

"Meet me in the hall. Now." Gaara growled. Lee and Naruto followed him out into the hall and I could here lots of hushed whispers and then silence. Lee re-entered the room.

"The doctors asked me to come by and change your arm bandages. I hope you don't mind. They'll be in later to change the rest." He said sheepishly. I nodded. Once again, no one wanted to tell me anything. I felt a little betrayed, but hid it. It didn't matter anyway. Lee helped me sit up.

"Fuck. Balls. Cunt. Shit. Dick sucker. Cunt licker. FUCK!" I yelled as he helped me swing my legs over the edge of the bed. Lee was practically tomato red.

"What's wrong?" I asked. I was in so much pain that I was near tears and gasping for air.

"You… curse a lot." He stammered out. I smiled at him.

"Yeah, well, I hurt a lot." I wanted to laugh, but couldn't.

I was only wearing a tank top so he began unraveling the bandages. I looked down to see my entire arm slashed up and nearly purple from bruises. I shuddered. No wonder it all hurt so much.

"Lee, why won't you tell me what's going on?" I whispered, enraged that once again I was just a weakling, having every one else take care of me.

"Gaara asked us not to." Was all that he said. He took my hand gently after wrapping both arms.

"Rae," he started "Some things should be handled with time and delicacy. You are such a wonderful woman that first we need to help you heal your body before healing your mind. I, Naruto and everyone else will stand by your side." His eyes held such a serious determination.

"I AM NOT DELICATE!" I screamed. I had had ENOUGH! I didn't want to be treated like I was some sort of weak person that needed the protection of everyone. Lee backed off slightly. I swung my legs over the side of my bed and slid off, crumpling onto the floor in pain.

"Rae! Don't…" Lee took a step forward to help me.

"Shut up ya green idiot!" I couldn't shout anymore, it hurt too much, but he could feel the anger in my voice. All I wanted was to be treated like a person. I wanted my friends that knew I could handle myself. I wanted the privacy that was stripped away from me. I stood on shaky feet, every cell in my body screaming in pain.

"Rae! You have to stop!" Lee whispered, almost begging.

"Please! I know you're pain. I know what it feels like to be so broken and to have everyone treat you like you'll break." He said, reaching to sit me back on the bed.

"If you know so much, then you should know that I can't just lay in this bed and wait for someone to tell me that I'm better!" I spat out at him. Lee looked taken aback.

"You're right. I was in the same position… and I couldn't just lay in bed. I wanted to continue being a ninja." Lee looked at the ground his fists clenched.

"Then stop trying to glare holes into the floor and help me." I said, holding out a shaking hand. Lee looked at me with a tearful smile

"Ok!" He struck his nice guy pose.

"AHAHAHAHAHA! You look RIDICULOUS!" I laughed so hard I collapsed back on the ground. After my fit of laughter, I sat up.

"Help me up please?" I held out a hand to him and he took, helping me back on my feet.

"Alright Lee! Stand over by the door and I'll try to walk over to you." I said, letting go of his hand. He did as he was told and stood by the door. It took all my strength just to take one step and keep my balance.

"Maybe we should try a shorter distance?" He suggested.

"NEVER!" I yelled, throwing my fists into the air. Much of the evening went in a similar fashion. Every time I fell to my knees before reaching Lee, I'd start over. It was dusk before anyone else came by.

Temari entered the room, a tray of food in her hands.

"What the hell are you doing?" She yelled, shoving the tray roughly into Lee. She stormed over to me, her green eyes blazing with anger.

"Ah! Temari! How nice to see you! Is that a new dress? It's really awesome!" I said as she approached me with such anger radiating off of her that I could have roasted a marshmallow.

"You are SUPPOSED to be resting! You could hurt yourself or…" She started yelling again.

"I DON'T WANT TO BE RESTING!" I yelled back, glaring at her.

"Huh?" Temari stood there stunned.

**Gaara POV**

Temari, Kankuro and I had been training all day. As the sun began to set Temari left to go run some errands and left Kankuro and myself to walk home.

"So… " Kankuro said.

"What?" I snapped at him.

"N-nothing. Sorry." He stuttered out and disappeared out of my sight. I snorted. It was amusing sometimes how he tried to act like a brother.

"Hey Gaara?" An obnoxious voice called out after me.

"What?" I growled at the blond. Why did everyone want to bother me today?

"How come you never said anything about getting hitched?" Naruto asked as we walked the busy streets. I snorted at his assumption that I would tell him anything.

"It's not something I want to do. It's arranged." I murmured. I hated how the blond always got so much out of me without even trying.

"Oh! Man, from the way she hit Neji, you wouldn't think it was arranged." Naruto snickered to himself. Gaara had to restrain himself from gaping at the fox host.

**OH-HO! She managed to land a blow on that arrogant Hyuuga too? That woman's got guts!**

I ignored the raccoon, but had to agree with him. That girl seemed to have a knack for catching people off guard.

"It was awesome! Neji said something mean about you and she just slapped him! You should have seen the look on his face! It was priceless!" Naruto continued to ramble as I smirked to myself. I had to admit that it made me feel a little… good that she slapped that arrogant bastard and not just me.

"Hey, so when's the wedding?" He asked, causing me to stop in my tracks I had forgotten that it was soon, but I couldn't remember HOW soon.

_I'll have to get Temari to tell me if they've settled on a date yet._ I thought to myself.

"I don't know yet." I told the blond.

"Oh. Well, you'll totally have to invite me!" He laughed. The others from his team approached.

"Hey guys!" Naruto waved them over. I smirked at the Hyuuga.

"Man, how troublesome, running into you two. Gaara, you're sister threw a fit at Rae and now the two of them are going at it. Women… I don't know why you'd want to marry one." Shikamaru sighed.

"What happened?" Naruto asked. Lee looked quite nervous.

"Well, I was supposed to change her arm bandages and make sure she stayed in bed, but then she wouldn't stay in bed, so I was helping her walk around. Then Temari came in and threw a fit and while I feel bad for leaving, I ran out of there! Temari is frightening!" The green boy said nervously.

"Why were you helping her?" I growled out. He shouldn't have been doing that. I told him and Naruto to make sure she got better and here he was, admitting to helping her walk around.

"Look, I know you asked me to make sure she stayed in bed, but she got really upset that people were treating her like she was delicate." Lee said, holding his hands up in a defensive gesture.

"She is weak. She has no chakra. She'll never be strong. I can't believe you'd marry someone so fragile." Neji scoffed. Her not having chakra was news to me.

"She managed to hit you didn't she?" I asked, malice my words. Neji glared at me, then Naruto.

"She caught me off guard." He hissed out.

"Whatev…" My words were cut short as lightening shot up my leg.

_What the hell?_ The sensation kept racing up my leg. It started right were my kunai pouch was. I ripped open the small pouch and when my fingers grazed cold stone, the shocking feeling raced up my fingers as well. I pulled the necklace out of my pouch, holding it by the string, which seemed to deter the strange feeling it sent through my flesh.

I looked carefully at the stone. The flame had been replaced by a steady, pulsing blue light.

"What is that?" Naruto asked. I didn't bother answering him as I jumped out of sight and raced over the roof tops to Rae's room.


End file.
